Celebrating Joyce Grenfell

What a
lovely evening. A chance to remember the charm, wit and elegance of Joyce
Grenfell. And who better to deliver an evening of Grenfell’s inimitable
monologues, songs, sketches and observations than Southbourne-based actress
Trisha Lewis who has performed a celebrated tribute to the comedienne and
singer’s work for the past 20 years?

As Lewis
herself has pointed out there will be many younger people who have no idea who
Joyce Grenfell was. Attempting an explanation she says she was “a bit like
Victoria Wood, Pam Ayres or Alan Bennett. The thing is though she was utterly
unique.” Which is why the only way to
describe this extraordinary performer who died nearly 40 years ago is through
her work.

Lewis
rose to the task superbly giving us a selection of favourite Grenfell material
including of course the peerless nursery school sketch - “George don’t do that”
- and much, much more. Using a simple change of scarf, hat or jacket she
inhabited an array of characters brought to life through Grenfell’s acute sense
of observation and comedic skills.

The show
also told the fascinating life story of this quintessentially upper middle
class Englishwoman who was actually half American - the niece of Nancy Astor no
less.

We
learnt how, after finishing school in Paris, she became a performer through a
chapter of happy accidents. How she went on to entertain the troops, worked
with the BBC and eventually became a household name. She was a natural, a pioneering stand-up with
an ear for character and dialogue. Thanks to Trisha Lewis we got a very real
sense of what made Joyce Grenfell so special.